State workers lobby for raises

The Oklahoma Public Employees Association spent Wednesday lobbying for pay raises to be included in the Step Up Oklahoma budget and revenue package.

Executive Director Sterling Zearley said the proposal, scheduled for committee votes Thursday, is more likely to pass if it includes a salary increase for public employees.

“I don’t think they have the votes to pass the current Step Up plan,” said Zearley, whose group hasn’t taken a position on the Step Up proposal. “If you look at the plan we helped try to get passed last year, we had to really lobby hard to get that even close to passing.”

The plan last year he referenced included a state employee salary hike and a full reinstatement of the earned income tax credit, but, like other proposals, it failed to advance.

“Now, the state employee pay is out of that package, plus the earned income tax credit is out of that, so we think that adding those two items back into the Step Up plan gives it a more realistic chance of passing,” he said. “If those two components were in there, we could support the plan.”

“We’re asking legislative leaders, legislators in general and the Step Up (group) to be more realistic and put those two components back in,” Zearley said.

Brent Gooden, spokesman for Step Up Oklahoma, replied Thursday that the plan would help the state find recurring revenue and give teachers a pay increase, along with other proposals meant to improve government accountability.

“As we learned today, almost 70 percent of Oklahomans support the plan and want to see the Legislature come together to solve our problems,” he said referencing a poll. “We are focused on working in a supportive and cooperative manner to pass the Step Up Plan developed in a spirit of compromise.”